Staff

Stance Doctor Baseball & Softball Academy Staff

Dante Bichette Sr- Baseball Operations Advisor
Former 14 year Major League Player with a career average of .299, 4 time All Star, Silver Slugger Award Winner and 2013 Colorado Rockies Hitting Coach is our Special Baseball Operations Advisor.

A long time Pinellas County resident, Ken comes to Team Stance Doctor with over 10 years of professional baseball experience. From the time at Cross Bayou LL through his days as a professional, Ken has never lost the passion for the game. Ken works with all ages and specializes in all aspects of pitching; fundamentals, strategies, situational, strength and conditioning and of course mental.

During his years as a professional, Ken has played for and learned from some of Major League Baseballs great players and coaches including; Ron Guidry (NY Yankees), Wally Backman (NY Mets), George Brett (Royals), Rafael Santana (NY Mets), Charlie Kerfield (Houston Astros), Edgar Renteria, Juan Nieves (Current Red Sox Pitching coach) and others.

In 1994- after a stellar season at Saint Leo College where he set a school record with 159 strikeouts, Ken was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 15th round of the amateur baseball draft. During his time with the Royals, he played for former New York Met Raphael Santana and all time Royals great, George Brett.

In 1996 - Ken had one of his best years as a pro with 29 saves and a 1.36 era. The saves were a league record and earned him an All Star appearance in the Texas-Louisiana League.

In 1997 & 1998- he had the opportunity to play in the Taiwan Major Leagues with Don August (Brewers), Steve Wilson (Cubs & Dodgers), Sam Horn (Red Sox) and many others.

1999 – 2000 Played for former NY Mets great Wally Backman and NY Yankees Pitcher Ron Guidry and helped the team win the Western League Championship.

In 2002- Ken earned another All Star appearance in the Central League after playing winter ball for Edgar Renteria in Columbia, and former LA Dodgers catcher Steve Yeager.

In 2003 Ken finished his professional career as a player/ coach of the Central League and has been teaching others what he was taught during his years in pro baseball.

Steve’s extensive playing career spans from high school through college and includes 2 seasons in the California Wood Bat Collegiate Summer League in 1990 & 1991. Here is were he played with some of the nations best prospects and had the opportunity to work with Long Beach State coaches and players in addition to former professional players during the 1990 Winter Baseball Season at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, California.

Post playing career, Steve continues to be a student of the game and is constantly adapting to new technology and methods that will allow his students to become the best possible players they can be. In the last 3 years, Steve has logged over 5,000 hours of video analysis, over 2,500 individual and team lessons and has worked with everyone from little league through college players in both baseball and fast pitch softball.

Eric Fountain- Hitting & Infield Specialist / Recruiting Coordinator

Eric comes to the Stance Doctor Baseball and Softball Academy as an instructor in hitting/ fielding and as the After School Coordinator.

Eric spent 8 years as a baseball/softball instructor at Pro Performance in Morgantown, West Virginia. At this facility, Eric worked with youth travel baseball teams of all ages, high school players, college players, professional players, and showcases. He has worked with hitters from West Virginia University, Fairmont State University, and West Wesleyan College. He also worked with Jedd Gyorko (San Diego Padres) Andy Altmus (Director of Baseball Pro Performance), David Carpenter (Washington Nationals), Joe Agreste (Texas Ranger Scout) Ernie Galusky (Director of Baseball Operations for the Black Bears Minor League Team), Jerry Mahoney (West Virginia Univeristy), and Ed Santa (Colorado Rockies Scout and Showcase). Eric has coached youth baseball in Delaware and West Virginia for numerous years and spent six years as a coach in the Morgantown Post 2 American Legion program.

Fountain played his college baseball at Potomac State College and then West Virginia University. He was also an All-State player in Delaware and played for team Delaware in the Big League World Series in 1996. His goal is to help players achieve their maximum potential and prepare them for college.

Born in Dayton, Ohio and raised in Tampa, Florida, TJ Wharton comes to the Stance Doctor with an expansive baseball background. TJ Is also currently in the first year as an assistant baseball coach for the Eckerd Tritons where he coaches the catchers and hittersBefore moving down to St. Petersburg, TJ was an assistant coach for Catawba College and a head coach in the Virginia Beach Collegiate League. He was a part of two regular season titles with Catawba college and saw a catcher get drafted under his watch both years coaching there (Will Albertson and Zac Almond). In his first time as a head coach in the VBCBL, he won the regular season title and managed/won the all-star game.

Before his college-coaching career, he had a successful collegiate and professional playing career. In his collegiate playing career, he was a second team all-region 10 at GTCC as a catcher. He then moved on to Catawba College where he was back to back 1st team all SAC DH and 2nd team All Southeast Region DH. Catawba won regular season titles both years he played there and were division 2 national runner-ups his senior year. His summer collegiate baseball career was highlighted with a championship win with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod League in 2014.

Prior to his first professional season, he served as a bullpen catcher for the New York Yankees in spring training catching the likes of Andrew Miller, Michael Pineda, and more. He wrapped up his playing career playing professionally in 2016 for the White Sands Pup Fish of the Pecos League, where he was an all-star, and the Ottawa Champions of the Can-Am League. He and his fiancé, Taylor, now reside in St. Petersburg, FL, where she is a Social Media Manager.

Andrew Don- Hitting & Fielding Instructor- Current Eckerd College Player

Sophomore (2015): Appeared in 14 games and made nine starts...Went 3-for-4 with one RBI and two runs scored in a 14-7 victory over Clearwater Christian (April 7)...Hit a three-run homerun in the first inning against Webber International (April 1)...Stole a pair of bases on two attempts against Thomas (March 10) during a 4-1 victory.

Colyn O’Connell is a professional baseball player in the Detroit Tigers organization. Colyn has been drafted twice- once in 2012 by the Cleveland Indians and in 2016 by the Detroit Tigers out of Fau. Colyn has extensive experience in the private sector working in player development as a performance coach for the Arm Farm LLC and privately as a pitching and hitting coach in the Tampa Bay and Miami Area.

As a player, Colyn was ranked as the #2 overall prospect in Florida JUCO in the fall of 2015. Colyn went on to have a 2.00 ERA at FAU before being drafted and earning the Detroit Tigers Minor League Pitcher of the Month.

Colyn has come back from UCLr (Ulnar Collateral Ligament reconstructive surgery AKA Tommy John) and has extensive first hand and second hand knowledge of prehab and the rehab process.

Joe Hudson- Catcher in the Cincinnati Reds organization

One of the top defensive catchers available in the 2012 draft, Dayton’s Joe Hudson (Reds) has proven to be an easy plus defensive catcher in pro ball. The former Notre Dame backstop, a sixth-round pick, draws praise for his blocking, receiving, leadership, quick transfer and arm strength. Joe has been a regular in the off Season at Stance Doctor and will help with camps and clinics before Spring Training in 2018.